Amazon blocks sale of Fifa 16, GTA 5 and many other AAA Xbox One and PS4 games to non-Prime members

A float depicts a red devil with a legend reading "Death of Retail - Amazon"Patrik Stollarz/AFP

Update 22 April 1.20pm: In a statement a spokesperson from Amazon told IBTimes UK: "One of the many benefits of Amazon Prime is access to exclusive selection on a number of great products. Customers who are not Prime members can sign-up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime, or they can purchase those items from a Marketplace seller."

Original article:

Amazon UK has extended its 'Prime-Exclusive Items' range to include a host of high-profile video games, with Fifa 16 and Grand Theft Auto 5 among the most popular titles now locked behind the Prime paywall.

Amazon UK users without a subscription to the online retailer's Prime service – which currently costs £79 a year – are now met with a blue-bordered text box that informs the account holder (and potential buyer) that the chosen item is being held "exclusively for Prime Members".

First spotted by VideoGamer, while you can still purchase the games through third-party listings on Amazon, many of the AAA titles are unavailable to 'regular' users across the Xbox One and PS4 platforms, with Fifa 16 even locked off on the recently retired Xbox 360.

The full list of Prime-only titles is slowly coming to light as Amazon UK buyers with a vanilla account try and fail to purchase games directly from the retailer. Many have taken to Twitter to voice their disapproval of the changes:

IBTimes UK has reached out to see if the changes are also hitting Amazon users in other countries, and will update when we know for sure.

Can you suddenly not buy your game of choice? Let us know which Prime-Exclusive titles you have discovered at @IBTGamesUK or @IBTimesUKTech and give us your opinion on the controversial changes.